Consoles Unbound

Share.

By M. Wiley

Wireless console controllers have been a long time in the coming. It's one thing for a company to equip their gear with extra-long cable runs, as Microsoft did with their Xbox controller, but it's quite another to simply snip the tether for total freedom. Historically, several obstacles have prevented wireless controllers to reach a level of sophistication at which point they would become practical. Firstly, it's difficult to maintain a fast, constant connection. Ever noticed a short delay while using your DVD clicker? Well, that latency might be fine for AV equipment, but it's unacceptable for gaming. Imagine trying to play DOA3 only to wait for moves to register - totally useless.

Another problem is that controllers have become pretty complex characters. The Dual Shock 2 controller has ten buttons (don't forget about R3 and L3), a D-pad, and a pair of analog sticks. Add to that that many of these controls are analog and you wind up with quite a device.

Most problematic, though, is battery life. A controller that would last one hour is no good. Gamers sit down and play. A five-hour session goes by in a snap, and we've all had way too many ten-hour marathons. Maintaining basic operation is one thing, but current pads also have rumble feedback, which is a real nightmare for batteries. It takes a lot of juice to turn those motors, which is why many of the new wireless pads lack the vibration function. Would you prefer two hours with rumble or ten hours without it? I thought so.

This year wireless was a big surprise at E3. I expected to see a couple such controllers, and Nintendo's WaveBird had already piqued everyone's interest, but I got even more than I had hoped for. Many of these controllers won't be released for a while, but it's only a matter of time before they hit the streets. These are final designs, and in some cases already in production. With any hope by this holiday season it won't be a matter of whether or not you'll buy a wireless pad, but rather which one you'll choose.

That said, here are the contestants.

Nintendo

Click image to enlarge.

A lot's been said about the WaveBird, whose name has undergone several minor variations. The WaveBird is special because it is the only first-party wireless controller slated for release. Neither Sony nor Microsoft has announced anything, nor have any rumors surfaced to the contrary. There's a lot to be said for first-party manufacturing, and Nintendo has an especially clean record. As for basics, the WaveBird will use RF technology -- I am guessing it operated at 900 MHz -- to transmit signals up to 40 feet. As RF operation is, for the most part, unhindered by such annoyances as walls and other household items, you don't have to worry about maintaining line of sight during usage.

The WaveBird draws power from a pair of AA batteries, which means that it won't be terribly heavy. Nintendo's claim is that two AA batteries will power the Bird through 100 hours of play. I find this unlikely, but even if they hit half that I would be impressed. As for multi-play, the Bird can run on one of twelve channels. The small dial on the front of the body is used to select a channel. This ensures that you and your pals can all play sans cables in the same area.

I don't know what kind of hit Nintendo is taking on each unit sold, but the Bird will hit shelves for a very reasonable $39.95. Even more exciting is that we're less than one month from the launch date: June 24, 2002. I recommend pre-ordering, as I am sure shelves will be empty by noon on launch day.

Logitech

Click image to enlarge.

The controller, which hasn't yet been named, though some variation of "freedom" is likely, communicates at 2.4 GHz, has a range of "more than 20 feet," which you can take to mean "slightly less than 20 feet," and pulls juice from four AA batteries. Fifty hours might sound a bit thin when compared to Nintendo's 100+ claim for the WaveBird, but it's a solid chunk of time. (Five hours per day for ten days straight ain't too shabby.)

I didn't take note, but I really hope Logitech had the foresight to put a vibration switch on the controller. It does have dual rumble motors, just like the original, but you'd definitely want to be able to disable this function. You're sharing the battery life between normal operation and the vibration motors. Not really a difficult choice, is it?

Of course, the RF operation enables the controller to be used in environments clogged with household items - tables, desks, etc. IR operation requires a line-of-sight connection, while RF passes through solids with little problem, especially at such short distances.

Click image to enlarge.

The design of the pad is a strange mix between the US Xbox controller and the Japanese/S version. Size-wise, it's still wide but it's thin. The button layout, however, is straight off the Japanese/S pad. The D-pad features the cross design, which is much more effective than the goofy wave pad of the official controller. The main action buttons are set in a standard diamond pattern, with the black and white buttons right in line with them. I look forward to seeing how useful the black and white buttons are, but they've got to be more comfortable than the silly Japanese/S placement. The two analog sticks are identical and have slick, green bases.

Logitech has not announced a release date, but fall 2002 sure would be nice. When it hits the streets it will carry a $69.95 MSRP. Hardly a budget controller, but that's not what it's supposed to be.

Mad Catz

All told, Mad Catz had a solid E3. Not only did they have a nice booth with plenty of goodies set up for play, but they also announced several interesting new products. Firstly, the MicroCON line of controls is just plain slick. These are simply smaller versions of the company's primary pads. Xbox, GCN, and PS2 models are on the way and I look forward to the review units. Expect to see a preview this week, and hopefully a full review within the month.

Back to the topic at hand, Mad Catz announced their Lynx line of wireless controllers at the show. Currently the only wireless pad is their 900 MHz PS2 model. Based on the success of said pad, Mad Catz had samples for all three consoles on hand. A new PS2 pad is also in the works. The biggest difference between the older version and the Lynx is that all Lynx products use normal AA batteries, as opposed to the original PS2 controller, which shipped with a charging base and internal rechargeable batteries.

Click image to enlarge.

The GCN Lynx controller should look familiar to those of you who've seen Mad Catz's Cubicon: The only difference is that the Lynx is wireless. The body and button layout are identical to the tethered version. Mad Catz decided to leave the rumble feature in their Lynx controllers. You can turn off the vibration, which is advisable, as this function eats batteries like mad. The controller operates at 900 MHz and has a range of 40 feet. Mad Catz hasn't made any claims about battery life and I doubt they will. However, if they want to keep up with the competition, and most importantly with Nintendo itself, the controller should be able to eke out 40 or so hours of rumble-free play.

The funniest moment of the entire show happened when I saw the Lynx controller for Xbox. Before you continue reading, take a close look at the Xbox image. Notice anything strange about the arrangement? (Hint: Think Xbox Live)

Click image to enlarge.

So my man at Mad Catz is all smiles telling me about the 40-foot range, the 900 MHz operation, the battery life - everything. He then proudly reveals that they were able to shave off some weight by placing the memory slots on the RF base instead of the controller itself. Well, Xbox Live was announced the previous day and I ask him about compatibility. It hits him and he just starts staring at the controller - no wind in his sails. You have to understand that in order to play Xbox games online you must have the headset inserted into one of the memory slots on the pad. It's a necessary part of the equation. Having to plug into a jack across the room is obviously impractical. You'd think that Mad Catz would have had this info before they designed the pad.

The fellow actually handled it pretty well once the situation sank in. He suggested that users could buy a controller extension cord and place the wireless pad next to them. Of course, there's no point in investing in a wireless controller if you have to buy additional wires to make it work. Brilliant stuff.

Saitek

Known more for their PC peripherals, Saitek had a great showing of wireless controllers for all three consoles, as well as wireless steering wheels and joysticks.. I am still waiting for product images -- my laptop crashed at the show, taking all of my floor pics with it -- but should have them this week. Saitek takes a very different approach with their models. The controllers come bundled with two proprietary -- I know it's a scary word -- NiMH batteries. Only one is needed for operation, so you can always have one charging. This clever design theoretically means that you always have a full battery. Unfortunately, the charge time is longer than the play time, so a continuous loop is impossible.

As far as basic features, the controllers operate at 900 MHz, have plenty of range, and have vibration motors. The motors can be disabled in favor of longer battery life. The Saitek rep stated that with the rumble effect play time was cut to about two hours, so you'd definitively want to shut it down.

Saitek will launch all three models this fall, along with a few other wireless goodies.

Eleven Engineering

Eleven Engineering was at the show to pump their xiSPIKE (AKA SPIKE) technology, which they're describing as "wireless done right." It's wrong to think of SPIKE technology as typical wireless communication, like the stock operations of IR or RF remotes or phones, where one transmitter interacts with one receiver. Instead, the system consists of one transceiver and up to four controllers. The transceiver has 1.5mbps to work with, which it can spread across up to four channels. As the transceiver connects to one controller input, up to sixteen controllers can operate in one area.

The great convenience of the SPIKE system is that one transceiver can be used with any console. In other words, you can buy one rig and use it with your Xbox, PS2, and GCN. The booth had a PS2 and an Xbox set up and I easily toggled between the two systems. (A double tap of the start button changes the active controller port; a triple tap changes consoles.)